Netflix's American Vandal review

Netflix's "American Vandal" is about dicks. Specifically, 20 dicks spray-painted on 20 cars in the faculty parking lot of fictional Hanover High School in Oceanside, California. The only suspect is Dylan Maxwell, a moron, stoner and general screw-up with a penchant for vandalism and a history of misbehavior. The eight-part mockumentary miniseries begins shortly after Maxwell's expulsion. The in-universe documentarian is Peter Maldonado, a film student at Hanover. Maldonado intends to clear Maxwell's name and find the truth, answering the trademark question of the series: "Who drew the dicks?"To be clear, "American Vandal" is an excellent show, always intriguing and often hilarious. The core joke of the show— Maldonado's methodical approach to the crass minutiae of high school life— doesn't wear itself out and is always ripe for laughs, and it's careful cinematography expertly pays homage to and lampoons true crime documentaries like Netflix's own "Making a Murderer." In a TV landscape flooded with half-imagined ideas and tired premises, Vandal is an original and funny breath of fresh air. "Vandal" handles its vulgarity with a quiet dignity, and intersperses biting satire among its phallic absurdities."American Vandal" succeeds as a comedy, but its greater triumph lies in its success as a true-crime documentary. Despite its fictitious nature and vulgar premise, by its fourth episode the mockumentary reveals itself as more than just a spoof. Narrators prove unreliable, and each episode of the show affects its successor as Maldonado's in-universe "American Vandal" project goes viral. Here, "American Vandal" not only elevates but perfects the dick joke, swaddling it in meta-commentary and sharp social critique. The inexperienced documentarians attempt to take a frank look at the value of perspective, but ultimately expose their own deep-seated biases. "American Vandal" could have succeeded as a crass comedy, but it elevates itself to a level of complexity that leaves the viewer curiously enthralled. As the show progresses, you care more and more about the characters, about the mystery. The mockumentary draws in the viewer far more than any mockumentary is obligated to do, and the results are spectacular.And for high schoolers particularly, "American Vandal" will resonate. The show is often recognizable not only cosmetically (the majority of the show was filmed at nearby Palisades Charter High School) but also subtly, in its stellar cast of students and teachers. Though sometimes reduced to caricatures, the students and teachers who populate Hanover High artfully skewer specific archetypes that exist in abundance at Samo and high schools across the United States. Dylan Maxwell, initially a stock meathead stoner character, develops complexities and insecurities that feel uncannily familiar. Netflix's "American Vandal" is about dicks. But it's also about profiling. It's about bias, about herd mentality. It's about subversion and coercion and the truth. It's a lot more than just a dick joke. And it's worth five hours of your time.